St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-11-19
MUMMIES IN ALASKA.
HOW WILD TRIBES PRES ERN K THE
BODIES OF THEIR DEAD.

Burial ImpracticabIe on Account of the
Soil-The Methods in Use on the Asiasto
Side of I:ehring Straits-How the EN-
balming is Done and the Means Used.
For more than 100 years it has been
known through the quaint accounts Of
thc early vOyagers that certain OF the wild
tribes in Southern Alaska preserved the
bodies of their dead During the past
few years the first discoveries in this pc
culiar field of antiquity have been made.
There are no traces of mummies on the
mainland, but the practice of preserving
the bodies of the dead was in vogue among
the inhabitants Of the Aeutian Islands
and the kadiac Archipelago at the time
Of their discovery, and no doubt had
been the custom among them for Centu
rics.
In the Chukchee peninsula on the
AsiatiC side of Bchring strait there is
no soil in many places. There are no
trees and but little drift wood. Burial Of
the dead here is impracticable, cremation
impossible, and the natives expose their
dead on some hillside to the tender mer
cies of bears, dogs and foxes. In the
Yukon valley, at a short distance below
the surface, the soil is permanently
frozen. But timber abOunds, and the
bodies of the dead, doubled up to ecOno-
mize space, are placed in wooden collins
which are secured without nails and ele-
waited above the earth on four posts. To
brighten away wild beasts, poles are fire.
Quently erected around the coffin, bear
ing long strips of fur or cloth, which are
agitated by the wind. On the Lower
Yukon the coffin is sometimes filled in
with clay, packed hard and firm. The
NoWikakhat Indians sometimes place
their dead erect, surrounded by hewn
timbers scanned like the slaves of cask.
/ On the islands the soil is unfrozen and
there are no obstacles to digging. Wooc
is found only on the shores, drifted by
the ocean currents, and usually not in
large quantities. The cliffs, which are
found on every hand, shattered by fire.
quent earthquakes afford in the talus OF
broken rock at their bases abundant and
/ convenient rock shelters. Here the nat
/ ural repositories exist of which the ma.
/ tives have awaited themselves.
The mode of preserving the dead
adopted by the natives of these islands
was as follows: The body was first pre-
pared by making an opening in the pelvic
region and removing all the internal Or
gans. The cavity was then filled with
dry grass and the body placed in running
water This process in a short time re-
moved most Of the fatty portions, leaving
| only the skin and muscular tissues. The
! knees were then brought up to the chin
and the whole body secured as compactly
| as possible by means OF cords. The
! bones of the arm were sometimes broken
| to facilitate the process of compression.
| In this posture the remains were dried.
| This required great deal of attention,
the eXuding moisture being carefully
wiped off from time to time. When
the body was thoroughly dried the
cords were removed and 1t was
usually wrapped in shirt, made of the
skins of aquatic birds with the feathers
on, and variously trimm ed and orna-
mented with fine embroidery. Over this
were wrapped pieces Of mating, made OF
| elymus fibre, carefully prepared. This
| was frequently ornamented with checks
| and stripes of colored fibre. Over this
| sometimes a waterproof material, made
! from the split intestines of the sea lion
| sewed together, was placed. Outside Of
| these coverings were usually the skins
| of the sea otter or other fur animals,
| and the whole was secured in case of
| sealskins, coarse mating, or similar ma
terial, secured firmly by cords, and so ar
ranged as to be capable of suspension.
When the body was that of an infant
the case was usually the shape of era
die. 1t was often of wood, ornamented
as highly as their resources would allow,
painted with red, blue or green native
pigments, carved, adorned with pendants
of carved wood and suspended by braided
cords of whale sinew from two wooden
hoops, like the arches used in the game
of croquet The bodies of infants were
often retained in the house by the fond
mother for long time. Afterward they
were sometimes suspended in the open
air The bodies of the adults were in
variably consigned to caves or rock shell
tiers.
Mummies have been recently found in
the caves in Unga, one of the ShumOgin
islands, and on the islands of Amakonk
and AtEl. | have frequently heard
stories in relation to a cave on "The
Island of the Four Mountains" where
large numher of perfectly preserved
specimens were said to exist. In 1874
thirteen perfectly-preserved mummies
were brought to this country from the
cave regions of Alaska. The remains
are all those of true aboriginal Aleuts.
Most of these remains are now in the
National Museum at Washington.
WILL NJ. CLEMENS.